During the course of eye surgery, blood collects on the surface of the eye. Typically, triangular cotton swabs are used to soak up this blood and other liquids used to wash the eye during the surgery. Frequently a pool of liquid forms on the eye's surface that is difficult to remove quickly using cotton swabs. This problem occurs in many types of surgery such as, for example, when implanting an intraocular lens or using lasers. It is particularly acute when the patient has very deep eye sockets. Moreover, the use of the cotton swabs frequently interferes with the view of the surgeon as he or she looks through a microscope into the open eye while conducting the surgery. Pooling of liquids on the eye causes poor visualization and makes eye surgery very difficult to perform effectively in a timely fashion. Such pooling alters the depth perception of the surgeon and this can cause potential complications or errors during surgery.